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General Nathaniel Folsom 



AN ADDRESS 



DELIVERED 



April 8, 1903 



BEFORE THE NEW HAMPSHIRE HISTORICAI. SOCIETY 



HENRY M. BAKER 



GENERAL NATHANIEL FOLSOM. 



.There are many men whom the world does not call great, 
who by lives of uprightness and efficiency deserve well of their 
fellow-men and leave behind them records of public service 
faithfully performed which challenge attention and command 
admiration. Such men are the substance of the state, the 
strength of the past, the hope of the future. They are more 
liable to be forgotten than the brilliant few whose names 
illumine history, but they are none the less essential to the 
public welfare. They are those who keep the state true to its 
principles, the church faithful to its precepts and who lead the 
people to higher ideals and more earnest effort. We are met 
to-day to consider the life-work of such a man, Gen. Nathaniel 
Folsom, to commemorate his service to our state, the nation, 
and to his fellow-men. 

The Folsom family was of good English stock. John Fol- 
som, an ancestor of Gen. Nathaniel Folsom and the first of 
this family to settle in America, came on the ship Diligent 
of Ipswich, England, in 1638, and found a home in Hingham, 
Massachusetts. Less than two years before, he had married 
Mary Gilman. Thus, even while in the mother country, the 
families of the Folsoms and the Gilmans, both so distinguished 
in New Hampshire, were associated. He removed to Exeter, 
this state, about 1653. It is probable that others of the Fol- 
som family accompanied him or emigrated about the same time 
as the records of the town of Exeter show that Goodwin Fol- 



som was one of the selectmen in 1659 and a juryman in 1662. 
The grandson of the emigrant, John Folsom, was Jonathan Fol- 
som, who was a farmer in Exeter. He married Anna, daughter 
of Nathaniel Ladd. They had twelve children, one of whom, 
Nathaniel Folsom, the subject of this address, was born in 
Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1726. He was twice married. By 
the first marriage there were six children, and by the second, 
one, a daughter. 

At the death of his father, Nathaniel was only fourteen 
years of age. The family was large and it became necessary 
for each member of it to contribute all possible for its support. 
He was soon apprenticed to a trade at which he worked for 
several years, though later in life he was known as a merchant. 
In 1 761 he formed a copartnership with Joseph and Josiah 
Gilman under the firm name of Folsom, Oilman & Oilman. 
The duration of the firm was limited to seven years and its 
objects were stated to be " to keep a general store on a large 
scale, to build ships and carry on foreign commerce." 

In the days of young Folsom's early manhood the military 
spirit of the colony ran high and deeds of during were frequent. 
In common with the young men of his time he joined a militia 
company at an early age, and in its service undoubtedly 
developed that liking for military affairs which so largely 
determined his public career. I have found no record to show 
what offices he held in his company or regiment prior to the 
Crown Point Expedition of 1755. The fact that he was as- 
signed to the command of one of the ten companies constitut- 
ing New Hampshire's quota in that expedition is proof in it- 
self that he must have held good rank and excellent reputation 
in the military circles of the colony. His company consisted 
of his neighbors and acquaintances in Exeter and adjoining 
towns. He marched with his men through the woods to Al- 
bany, New York, and thence to Fort Edward, where he joined 
the other New Hampshire troops. The men from our state 
served largely as rangers, which implies a knowledge of the 
wiles and skill of Indian warfare. 

The French and Indians attacked the Americans at Fort 
George, were repulsed and their commander, Baron Dieskau, 



mortally wounded and taken prisoner. During the day Cap- 
tain Folsom was ordered to scout with his men in the direction 
of Lake George. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon he met the 
retreating French and Indians and immediately scattered his 
men according to the ranger system of fighting, protecting 
them by trees and other defences, leaving each man to shoot 
when and as often as he could do so effectively. Under his 
immediate conmand were the eighty-four men of his own com- 
pany and about one half that number from New York. They 
maintained a sharp firing until dark, inflicting great loss upon 
the enemy, though their own loss was slight. Then they re- 
turned to their camp bringing with them their wounded, several 
prisoners, and considerable supplies captured from the enemy. 

Hon. Theodore Atkinson, secretary of the province of New 
Hampshire, in a letter to John Tomlinson, Esq., relative to the 
Crown Point Expedition, wrote: "In the engagement with Gen- 
eral Dieskau about eighty of our men [Captain Folsom's company 
of eighty-four] with about forty Yorkers — many of whom were 
of little service though others of them behaved well — I say, 
this small party under the command of Captain Folsom of New 
Hampshire it is thought killed more of the Canadians and 
Indians than was killed at General Johnson's camp ; they con- 
tinued an obstinate engagement with more than one thousand 
— indeed all that retired from before General Johnson's camp 
— killed great numbers of the enemy, recovered about twelve 
hundred packs, beat off the enemy, carried their own wounded 
men to the camp. This engagement lasted about three hours, 
when night came on and the French and Indians went off and 
left all. After this our regiment was ordered to the camp at 
Lake George and was never put upon duty but in the scouting 
way, which they performed in so acceptable a way that no duty 
but that was required of them. General Johnson could or 
would have had no intelligence had it not been for our men." 

It is said of Captain Folsom's victory that it " served more 
than anything else to revive the spirit of the colonies." 

This was the last active movement in this campaign. The 
regulars went into camp at Fort William Henry and the New 
Hampshire men returned home. 



It does not appear that Captain Folsom engaged in any ac- 
tive campaigning from this time until the outbreak of hostilities 
in the Revolutionary war. He was probably at home engaged 
in his trade or in business, living an active but quiet life. He 
did not, however, abandon his service in the militia for in 1767 
he was promoted to be major, later to lieutenant-colonel and 
subsequently to be colonel of the Fourth New Hampshire regi- 
ment, which command he probably continued to exercise until 
he was chosen brigadier-general by the Provincial congress 
which met at Exeter two days after the battle of Lexington. 
His duty was tersely stated to be to command the troops that 
had gone or might go "from this government to assist our suf- 
fering brethren in the province of Massachusetts Bay, who are 
now opposing the hostile violence of the regular troops, and to 
order for the troops that may be under his command, from 
time to time, all necessary supplies and to transmit to us the 
earliest accounts thereof and what may be thought further 
necessary for the support of the common cause." 

The next Provincial congress met on the 17th of May fol- 
lowing and proceeded to put the colony upon a war basis. 
On the 20th of that month they voted to raise 2,000 men,, 
including those already encamped around Boston. Three days 
later John Stark, James Reed, and Enoch Poor were elected 
colonels and Nathaniel Folsom a brigadier-general to command 
the three regiments in the field and all the troops raised by 
the state. This arrangement continued until the organization 
of the Continental service, which was enlisted for three years 
or during the war. Colonel Stark was then at Medford, with 
some 800 men under his command. He was soon joined by 
Colonel Reed and those of his regiment ready for duty. 
Colonel Poor remained in New Hampshire with his men to 
defend Portsmouth, the frontier, and the sea-coast. Colonels 
Stark and Reed participated in the battle of Bunker Hill and 
won laurels for the state. General Folsom remained at home 
attending to the details of his military command and encour- 
aging enlistments. He was known by the militia better than 
any man in the state, and all had confidence in his energy, 
integrity, patriotism, courage, and ability to organize those 



subject to military duty and to induce them to volunteer for 
active service. He was first made a brigadier-general, and on 
the 30th of June, 1775, was appointed a major-general by 
resolve of the Provincial congress, and his commission ante- 
dated to the 24th of May. On the 24th of August following 
he was designated again to be the general officer over the 
militia of the colony. This position he filled efficiently during 
the war. General Folsom was not at Bunker Hill. He was 
busy equipping the soldiers and preparing them for active and 
efficient service. He looked after the details which now would 
be performed by those in the quartermaster, commissary, and 
ordnance service, and was in truth the general military officer 
of the state. As an organizer and director he was respected 
as well as obeyed. He arrived in Cambridge three days after 
the fight on Breed's Hill, and assumed command of the New 
Hampshire troops, 

" Of men as ardent and brave and true 
As ever land in its peril knew." 

It was unfortunate that Colonel Stark entertained a feeling 
■of hostility to him, based largely, if not altogether, upon jeal- 
ousy because Folsom outranked him. One can scarcely under- 
stand why he should have claimed the preference, for in their 
prior service in battle Stark was a lieutenant and Folsom a 
captain ; and while Stark was not in the militia service of the 
colony at the commencement of hostilities, Folsom commanded 
a regiment, and though he was not present at the attacks upon 
Fort William and Mary on the 14th and 15th of December, 
1774, when the news that the fort had been assaulted reached 
Exeter, he hastily raised a considerable armed force and 
marched to Portsmouth, where he arrived on the morning of 
the 1 6th of that month and with his men guarded the captured 
cannon until they could be taken at high tide into the country. 
He and his men formed the escort for them until they were 
stored in a safe place. But whatever the personal merits of 
these brave men, the situation was alarming. Stark was pop- 
ular with his men, and had neglected and even refused to obey 
the orders of General Folsom. General Folsom showed great 



forbearance and tried to conciliate Colonel Stark. His efforts 
having failed to bring about proper discipline, he reported the 
facts to the Committee of Safety by letter dated June 23, 1775, 
in which he said : " I am well informed by Mr. Stark's best 
friends that he does not intend to be under any subordination 
to any person appointed by the congress of New Hampshire 
to the general command of New Hampshire troops. I have 
tried all conciliatory methods, both by personal conversation 
and the mediation of friends but without effect. . . 
Gentlemen, it is, I trust, unnecessary to hint to you that with- 
out a proper subordination it will be absolutely impossible for 
me to execute the trust you have reposed in me." 

Fortunately, upon reflection, Colonel Stark recognized his 
duty as a military officer, and General Folsom, two days later, 
was happy to supplement his previous report by another in 
which he said, "In my letter of the 23d instant I informed you 
that Colonel Stark refused subordination to my orders. But 
yesterday he made such submission as induces me to desire to 
pass over said letter, so far as it relates to him, unnoticed." 

When Colonel Stark yielded, the past was disregarded if not 
forgotten. Both General Folsom and Colonel Stark desired 
an election as brigadier-general by the Continental congress. 
The friends of each were active, possibly bitter, so congress, 
in consequence of this unfortunate rivalry, set aside both and 
elected John Sullivan, who was then a delegate in congress 
from New Hampshire. 

General Folsom remained with the New Hampshire troops 
before Boston less than three months. When General Sullivan 
joined the army, there appeared to be no necessity for his con- 
tinuance in the field, and he retired to his home in Exeter 
(where his wife had died a short time before, leaving a large 
family), and devoted himself to the public service in various 
capacities, but principally as commander of the militia, 
improving its equipment and discipline so that a considerable 
force could be available upon a short notice. The militia 
comprised twelve regiments fully organized, and from them 
were enlisted four regiments of minute men subject to orders 
to march at once. After the assumption of civil government 



by New Hampshire the Provincial congress passed an act for 
"forming and regulating the Militia within the State of New 
Hampshire in New England." This act divided the militia 
into two classes — the training band and the alarm list. The 
training band included, with the ordinary exceptions, all able- 
bodied male persons in the state from i6 to 50. The alarm 
list included all male persons not in the training band, or 
otherwise excepted, from 16 years of age to 65. They could 
not be ordered out of their respective towns by an officer of 
less rank than a colonel, but must once in every six months 
appear with their arms and accoutrements for inspection. 

Each volunteer of the training band was required to equip 
himself with a good firearm and all other requirements of a 
soldier. Each company was to muster eight times a year, and 
in addition the major-general could order musters of the militia 
at his discretion. In 1776 the training band had 16,710 men 
enrolled. That year New Hampshire had 300 men in her 
fortifications and nine regiments under arms — three regiments 
of regulars in the Continental army and six regiments held as 
reenforcements. The remaining enrolment of the state was 
subject to duty as emergencies should require. 

All through the war General Folsom was the inspiring and 
devoted commander of the state forces. He was responsible 
for their organization, equipment, and discipline. When any 
invasion was anticipated he ordered the several regiments to 
be properly equipped for immediate service, and that the men 
carry their firearms with them " as much as they can with any 
degree of convenience, as we know not the day or hour when 
an attack may be made on our border ; and, as it is of the 
greatest importance to meet our enemies before they have time 
to get much footing, and to stop those infernal traitors among 
ourselves who may be disposed to join them." A few extracts 
from the public records will illustrate his duties and the confi- 
dence reposed in him. 

On April 21, 1775, ^h^ ^^^^ Provincial congress of which he 
was a member, voted unanimously that Col. Nathaniel Folsom 
be desired immediately to take the chief command of the New 
Hampshire forces as has been stated. Five days later he was 



8 

made chairman of a committee to visit Massachusetts bearing 
a letter to the congress there and was instructed to assure them 
of the sympathy and aid of the people of New Hampshire. 
Later he went upon a like mission bearing the reply of New 
Hampshire to a letter from Massachusetts. The same month 
he was appointed on a committee to call a Provincial Congress 
of Deputies when they shall judge the exigencies of public 
affairs require it, and chairman of a committee on correspond- 
ence with other congresses and with committees of safety. He 
was a member of the second Provincial congress which met at 
Exeter the 17th of May, 1775. In this congress he was a 
member of the committee on rules and on ways and means. 
On the 20th of May it was voted, "That if it should appear 
that the above number of men (those enlisted in the towns) is 
not our full proportion with the other governments that this 
convention will be ready to make a proper addition for that 
purpose." 

General Folsom was also a member of the third Provincial 
congress. In this congress he was appointed on a committee 
to prepare a plan for the representation of the people in the 
future. 

His committee service was varied and extensive. Among 
the subjects which he was called upon to consider, in addition 
to those already stated, were to lay a plan for an army of suffi- 
cient force, to report what laws should be adopted as laws of 
the state, to nominate a proper person to be major-general of 
militia while he is in the Continental congress, on pay of 
soldiers, to nominate officers, as to highways, to nominate dele- 
gates to the Continental congress, to nominate collectors of 
taxes, on oath of fidelity, on the defenses of Portsmouth harbor, 
to reduce tax on money loaned the state, to nominate civil offi- 
cers, on business of the session, to raise men for the defense 
of Rhode Island, on ratable polls and estates, on recruiting 
soldiers, on clothing for soldiers, on bills as legal tender, on 
pay of civil officers, on accounts, on the liquor excise, on 
amount to be raised as taxes, on uniform taxation in the New 
England colonies by imposts, excises, etc., on the salaries of 
justices of the courts, on resolutions of congress, and various 



9 

others. Those enumerated are ample to show the confidence 
reposed in him and his capacity for multiform service. The 
second and third Provincial congresses elected committees of 
correspondence. General Folsom was a member of each and 
chairman of the second one. After that and until the close of 
the war committees of safety were chosen. General Folsom 
served on that responsible committee in the years 1775, 1776, 
1778, 1779, 1782, and 1783. In 1777, when he was not a mem 
ber of the committee, he joined the citizens of Portsmouth in a 
petition to it asking the banishment or execution of "those 
abandoned wretches well-known by the name of Tories, who 
have too long infested this town and State . . . and contin- 
ued repeatedly to add Insult to Injury, till at length many have 
by the further instigation of the Devil been prompt on to coun- 
terfeit and pass large sums of money." He was a member 
of the state council in the years 1776 and 1784. 

As in the Continental congress each state had one vote and 
no more, though represented by several delegates, it is evident 
that there was not that inducement and possibly not the neces- 
sity for the continuous attendance of each delegate which exists 
under our present representative system. This fact may ac- 
count for the failure to attend of some of those elected to rep- 
resent our state in the Continental congress, and for the irreg- 
ular attendance of others, and also for the many times an elec- 
tion was declined. 

It is also to be noted that such delegates did not receive a 
stated salary regularly paid but were required by the necessities 
of the hour to expend their private fortunes or, at least, to ad- 
vance their personal and official expenses until such time as the 
public treasury would justify reimbursement. 

General Folsom was elected a delegate from New Hampshire 
to the first Continental congress which assembled in Carpen- 
ter's hall, Philadelphia, on Monday, the fifth of September, 
1774. John Sullivan was his colleague. Their credentials 
being the first issued are given in full. They are as follows : 

PROVINCE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
At a meeting of the deputies appointed by the several towns in this prov- 
ince, held at Exeter in the County of Rockingham, 21st July 1774, for the 



10 

election of delegates on behalf of this province to join the general Congress : 
Present 85 members; The Honorable John Wentworth, Esq. in the chair: 
Voted, That Major John Sullivan and Colonel Nathaniel Folsom, Esqrs.; 
be appointed and empowered, as delegates, on the part of this province, to 
attend and assist in the General Congress of delegates from the other Colo- 
nies, at such time and place as may be appointed, to devise, consult and 
adopt such measures, as may have the most likely tendency to extricate the 
Colonies from their present difficulties; to secure and perpetuate their rights, 
liberties and privileges and to restore that peace, harmony and mutual con- 
fidence which once happily subsisted between the parent country and her 

colonies. 

J. Wentworth, 

Chairman. 

Major Sullivan and Colonel Folsom were prompt in their 
attendance. On Tuesday the second day of the congress it 
was resolved, "That a committee be appointed to state the 
rights of the Colonies in general, the several instances in which 
those rights are violated or infringed, and the means most 
proper to be pursued for obtaining a restoration of them." 
Both the delegates from New Hampshire were appointed on 
this committee. Their report, made a few days later, became 
the basis of the Declaration of Independence and remains ta 
this day one of the most memorable documents in our national 
history. 

Though General Folsom was elected to congress subse- 
quently at various times and though his credentials were pre- 
sented by his colleague May 16, 1777, he declined to serve, or 
was too busy in home affairs to attend until Monday, the 21st 
day of July of that year. The next month he was appointed on 
the board of the treasury, and from that time the colonial 
finances absorbed much of his time and attention. That ser- 
vice was so exacting that later he declined various committee 
assignments that he might devote himself to his duties at the 
treasury. General Folsom opposed all measures for represen- 
tation other than by one vote for each state. That view gener- 
ally obtained. The opposition consisted of Virginia, one half 
of North Carolina, and one delegate from Pennsylvania. He 
also vigorously opposed the plan to apportion taxes among the 
several states according to the value of the private land and 
improvements thereon in each state. He also served on the 



11 

marine committee for a few months, but was excused from 
further service " as he was engaged at the treasury," and Mr, 
Frost was appointed to the vacancy. 

During the consideration of the Articles of Confederation 
Mr. Folsom was active and alert. He voted against an amend- 
ment which required the states voting in favor of a proposition 
to comprise a majority of all the people of the United States, 
and opposed limiting the call for yeas and nays to the demand 
of a state instead of a delegate. He was not satisfied with the 
Articles of Confederation because, among other reasons, the 
slaves, who constituted about one third of the wealth of certain 
states, were not taxed, and because they were not subject to 
military duty on the other hand, though they produced the 
food and clothing which in other states required the labor of 
men who were enrolled. Thus the quotas of the slave-holding 
states were equitably too small if their taxes were proportion- 
able. These inequalities, agaitist which General Folsom earn- 
estly protested, were maintained until slavery was abolished. 

In October, 1777, when Mr. Hancock retired from the presi- 
dency of congress upon a leave of absence for two months, it 
was moved " that the thanks of congress be presented to John 
Hancock, Esq., for the unremitted attention and steady impar- 
tiality which he has manifested in the discharge of the various 
duties of his office as president." This resolution was met by 
a motion to substitute for it a resolution to the effect that " it 
is improper to thank any president for the discharge of the 
duties of that office." 

Mr. Folsom voted in favor of the substitute, but the motion 
was lost, the states being equally divided. The question then 
being upon the adoption of the original resolution, he voted 
No, and was sustained in that vote by Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, and Pennsylvania. 

It is certain that he voted against the resolution, not because 
he doubted either the ability, patriotism, or impartiality of 
Mr. Hancock, but because he thought the performance of duty 
to the best of one's skill and capacity should be required of 
every one as a matter of course and of right, and not be the 
subject of special thanks. 



12 

General Washington having consulted with General Gates 
and Governor Clinton relative to the advisability and expedi- 
ency of detaching a large force from the main army for the 
purpose of opening Hudson river after the surrender of Bur- 
goyne, and that fact having become known in congress, it was 
proposed to instruct General Washington to act relative thereto 
only "with their concurrence." Upon that proposition General 
Folsom promptly voted in the negative. He voted to detain 
the troops surrendered by General Burgoyne until the terms of 
the surrender were complied with by the British. 

On the loth of January, 1778, a committee of three from 
congress was ordered appointed, to serve with three members 
of the board of war, to visit the camp, consult with General 
Washington, and form and execute a plan for the consolida- 
tion of the army and increase its efficiency and promote disci- 
pline and good morals. Mr. Folsom was appointed on that 
committee. Letters from the camp, and the fact that Mr. Fol- 
som's name does not appear in the roll-calls of congress from 
January 15 to March 24, 1778, indicate that during that time 
the committee was at Valley Forge. The committee made 
several recommendations which were adopted, and the comfort 
and efficiency of the army were increased. 

About the ist of April, 1778, General Folsom returned 
home, and New Hampshire was unrepresented in congress 
until the 21st of May, when Mr. Josiah Bartlett presented his 
credentials. . 

General Folsom returned to congress on the 30th of Decem- 
ber, 1779, and remained about six months. The Journals of 
this congress are brief and unsatisfactory. In the published 
edition I have been able to consult the yeas and nays are not 
given, and it is practically impossible to determine the action 
of individual delegates upon many questions of importance. 
Mr. Nathaniel Peabody was his only colleague present (though 
Woodbury Langdon and George Frost had been chosen) until 
Mr. Samuel Livermore, who was subsequently elected, pre- 
sented his credentials Monday, the 7th of February, 1780, and 
began a service which was continued several years. During 
this session General Folsom devoted himself especially to the 



13 

determination of the boundary between New Hampshire and 
the states of Massachusetts and New York, involving jurisdic- 
tion over the territory now known as the state of Vermont, and 
to the settlement of the accounts of the state of New Hamp- 
shire with the general government. 

His efficient service in prior congresses is proof that he was 
active upon all public questions at this time. The Journals do 
not show definitely when General Folsom returned home. It 
is certain that he was in attendance until late in June. With 
the session his congressional career ended. It was active, 
efficient, progressive, and patriotic. He was true to his state, 
the United States, and the high ideals which actuated the lead- 
ers of the Revolution in military and civil life alike. He had 
served with such distinguished statesmen and patriots as John 
Sullivan, Josiah Bartlett, Samuel Adams, John Adams, John 
Hancock, Robert Treat Paine, Stephen Hopkins, Roger Sher- 
man, Elbridge Gerry, Oliver Ellsworth, Oliver Wolcott, Philip 
Livingston, George Clinton, Gouverneur Morris, John Jay, 
Thomas Mifflin, Edward Biddle, Benjamin Franklin, George 
Read, Philip Schuyler, Peyton Randolph, George Washington, 
Patrick Henry, Edward Rutledge, Charles Pinckney, and 
others, and was respected and honored by them. With them 
he had performed valued and delicate committee service, and 
at times had been selected by them for important and techni- 
cal duties. Had he performed no other service than on the 
treasury board and in the camp at Valley Forge, planning 
greater efficiency for the army, he would have deserved well of 
his countrymen and received the approval of his state. 

The records show that he served in the colonial assembly 
under Gov. John Wentworth before the difficulties with the 
mother country rendered separation a necessity, that he was an 
active and efficient member of the first four of the Provincial 
congresses, and that he served for several sessions in the state 
legislature. In 1776 he was one of the first twelve councilors 
(or senators) of the state under the form of government then 
adopted. 

He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1778-79. 
That convention submitted to the people a new constitution 



11 

which they rejected. No copy of the journal of this convention 
is preserved and hence no knowledge is obtainable of the propo- 
sitions submitted to the convention and rejected or the dis- 
cussions which ensued. Two years later the third constitu- 
tional conventional assembled. General Folsom was a mem- 
ber of this convention. It submitted three constitutions to the 
people. The first and second were rejected and the third 
ratified. The constitution thus secured is the basis of the con- 
stitution now in force and is a monument to the wisdom and 
forethought of our ancestors. This convention from its organ- 
ization to its final adjournment was in existence two years, four 
months, and twenty-six days. Its journal is also lost but that 
General Folsom was prominent in its deliberations can be fairly 
presumed from the fact that he was elected president /r<? tempore 
of its last session and as such signed the announcement of the 
adoption of the constitution by the people. 

On the 26th of January, 1776, he was elected the second 
justice of the court of common pleas for the county of Rock- 
ingham. The decisions of that court are not reported and hence 
no opinion can be expressed in positive terms of his career as 
a judge, but the facts that Rockingham was at that time the 
most important county in the state, that upon the adoption of 
the constitution he was promoted to chief justice, and that he 
held the office until his death, would indicate that he was sat- 
isfactory as a trial justice. 

During his entire life he had the confidence of his townsmen. 
They elected him to all the offices — great and small — within 
their control and it appears that he never declined to serve them 
because the office was insignificant or its duties laborious or 
unpleasant. His whole life was one of service. For a score of 
times he was elected moderator of Exeter's town-meeting. 

General Folsom was a Free Mason as is shown by his sig- 
nature to the petition of the master, wardens, and members of 
St. Johns lodge at Portsmouth to the legislature in " the year 
of Light 5799 " asking the incorporation of their lodge. 

In religion he was an orthodox Congregationalist, firm in his 
faith and strict in the observance of his duties. When the 
First church and its pastor were accused of being heterodox 



15 

he promptly joined in the movement for another society in 
which the old standards of faith and practice would be main- 
tained. He was active until a short time before his death, which 
occurred at his home in Exeter on the 26th of May, 1790. 

He was a kind husband, a devoted father, an obliging 
neighbor, a true friend, a patrotic citizen, and an officer faithful 
in the discharge of both civil and military duties. He deserved 
well of his town and state and neither were ungrateful. 

He was not a great man, but he could do many things well — he 
did not dazzle by brilliancy, but won the esteem, respect, and 
approval of his fellow-men by conscientious service. Such 
men are worthy of commemoration. Their disinterested and 
patriotic public service, their personal integrity and moral 
worth render them appropriate subjects for the consideration 
and admiration of all who honor virtue, love loyalty to principle, 
and reverence the ideal in man. 



>}6 ■ 1904 



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